St. Edward downs Rosary

Rosary girls basketball coach Dave Beebe said it best.

"St. Edward is a very talented team," said Beebe. "They have all the seniors who have played on varsity since freshman year and they play well together. They have a very good inside and outside game and they are tough to defend. "

After a sluggish first quarter, St. Edward outscored Rosary 57-32 in the final three quarters to post a 67-41 Suburban Christian Blue win in Elgin Saturday night.

Alexandra Lee provided the inside presence for the Green Wave (16-7, 4-4) with 19 points, connecting on 8-of-10 shots from the floor. Lee was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field in the first half in scoring 12 points. The Green Wave center also cleaned the glass for 9 rebounds.

Guard Callie Johnson, who was 2-of-8 from the floor in the first half, found her touch in the second half with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Johnson finished with 15 points, 5 assists and 3 steals.

"Alexandra played great inside," said Johnson. "We might have taken Rosary a little lightly but we played better the last three quarters. We have had a bit of a slump lately so we feel good about tonight."

Rosary (7-14, 1-5) stayed within striking distance of St. Edward in the first half. A 15-footer by Karly Tate with 2:26 before half pulled the Royals within 4 at 24-20 with 2:22 left before intermission. Those would be the last points Rosary would score in the first half.

Led by 5 points from Lee, the Wave scored the final 7 points of the half to lead 31-20 after 16 minutes.

"The last couple of minutes of the half killed us," said Beebe. "We were right in the game and they grabbed the momentum going into halftime."

Leading 45-31 after three quarters, St. Edward sealed the win by scoring the first 10 points of the fourth quarter.

Johnson and Lee scored 4 points each as the Wave turned a 14-point lead to 24, 55-31, with 5:06 remaining.

Rena Ranallo joined Lee and Johnson in double figures with 10 points.

"We started a little slow but we played very well the last three quarters," said St. Edward coach Michelle Dawson. "Alexandra played great and Callie played a solid game. We played well as a team."

Tate led the Royals with 16 points while Courtney Bila scored 11.